Federal prosecutors say that they have a confession from one of the two men who has been accused of sexually abusing a 15-year-old girl that they kept captive in a metal box and forced to work on their marijuana farm in Lake County, Calif., according to the Associated Press.
Ryan Balletto, 30, and Patrick Pearmain, 24, were scheduled to appear in federal court on Friday in order to enter pleas on charges of marijuana possession and using a minor in drug operations. Court documents revealed that prosecutors have a confession from Balletto, according to ABC News.
"The government...has a recorded, Mirandized confession by Balletto, a recorded statement from the minor victim, and multiple recorded statements from others who were working on the grow site," the documents said.
The case came to the attention of Lake County police when they were informed by the Los Angeles Police Department that Balletto may have kidnapped the 15-year-old. A day after visting Balletto's home and not finding the girl she called the authorities the next day to say that she was OK and in Sacramento. A phone trace by the LAPD led authorities to a hotel in West Sacramento where Permain was arrested, according to ABC News.
Authorities found "equipment consistent with sexual bondage and sadomasochism" at Balletto's pot farm. This included a rack "presumably used to attach a human to the device and immobilize them." The officers also found a towel with blood stains on it near the rack, according to the Associated Press.
According to court documents the girl was kept in a four by two by two foot box that had holes cut into it for air and in order to wash the girl without her getting out. The girl told authorities that she was locked in the box "on multiple occasions, for days," according to the Associated Press.
Officers found an enormous cache of weapons on the property in addition to hundreds of marijuana plants and body armor indicating that Balletto was prepared for a major fight, according to ABC News.
"The presence of so many weapons on the grow site, including two assault rifles and eleven loaded 20-30 round magazines...indicate that Balletto was prepared to engage in an extended gun battle," court documents said.
